The Nimba Otter Shrew is a dwarf otter shrew and belongs to the mammal family Tenrecidae

Tenrecidae

Tenrecidae is a family of mammals found on Madagascar and parts of Africa. Tenrecs are widely diverse, resembling hedgehogs, shrews, opossums, mice and even otters, as a result of convergent evolution. They occupy aquatic, arboreal, terrestrial and fossorial environments...

. It is native to Mount Nimba

Mount Nimba

Mount Richard-Molard is a mountain along the border of Côte d'Ivoire and Guinea in West Africa. At 1,752 m it is the highest point in both nations. The mountain is the highest peak of the Nimba Range , straddling the border between the two countries and Liberia...

 in West Africa

West Africa

West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of the African continent. Geopolitically, the UN definition of Western Africa includes the following 16 countries and an area of approximately 5 million square km:-Flags of West Africa:...

. Also known as Pygmy Otter Shrew, it shares the genus Micropotamogale with the Ruwenzori Otter Shrew

Ruwenzori Otter Shrew

The Ruwenzori Otter Shrew is a species of semiaquatic mammal in the family Tenrecidae. It is found in Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda. Its natural habitat is rivers. It is threatened by habitat loss....

.

Description

The Nimba Otter Shrew has a body length of 12-20 cm (4-8 in.) with a 10-15 cm (4-6 in.) long tail. It weighs about 125 g. It has a fleshy nose, rounded head and compact body. Its fur is long, of gray or dark brown color, and usually hides the eyes and most of the ears.

Ecology and behavior

Nimba Otter Shrew is nocturnal and semiaquatic. Its habitat consists of swamp

Swamp

A swamp is a wetland with some flooding of large areas of land by shallow bodies of water. A swamp generally has a large number of hammocks, or dry-land protrusions, covered by aquatic vegetation, or vegetation that tolerates periodical inundation. The two main types of swamp are "true" or swamp...

y areas, small rivers and upland forest stream

Stream

A stream is a body of water with a current, confined within a bed and stream banks. Depending on its locale or certain characteristics, a stream may be referred to as a branch, brook, beck, burn, creek, "crick", gill , kill, lick, rill, river, syke, bayou, rivulet, streamage, wash, run or...

s. It feeds on fish, crab

Crab

True crabs are decapod crustaceans of the infraorder Brachyura, which typically have a very short projecting "tail" , or where the reduced abdomen is entirely hidden under the thorax...

s, and water insect

Insect

Insects are a class of living creatures within the arthropods that have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body , three pairs of jointed legs, compound eyes, and two antennae...

s, catching its prey on short dives or along river banks.

Conservation status

Nimba Otter Shrew is listed as endangered. The species is confined to an area less than 5,000 square km around Mount Nimba. Its habitat

Habitat

* Habitat , a place where a species lives and grows*Human habitat, a place where humans live, work or play** Space habitat, a space station intended as a permanent settlement...

is severely fragmented and declining due to ongoing agriculture and mining activities.